Natsu

“Are you sure about this?” I asked, holding the shears cautiously.

“Yes.”

I closed the blades, and a chunk of hair drifted to the floor.

“Do all men have hair like this in your times?”

“Most, but not all.” I handed him a mirror.

“What is your time like?”

“Fast. Everything seems easier. But there’s no… magic.” I gestured toward the forest vaguely. Since the tanuki attacked me the last time, I hadn’t left the grounds. Even when Hoshihiko left once a week for supplies in town, I stayed behind.

“I cannot imagine any world but this one.” Unlike when I did it, when Hoshihiko moved his arm, magic seemed to spring from his fingertips. The cicadas and birds grew louder, and a butterfly actually landed on his hand. “What about your parents?”

I tried to bring forth an image of them, but pain shot through my head. “I can’t remember them. I’m not sure I had any.”

It had been three whole weeks since I’d ended up here, and we were no closer to figuring out what had happened to me.

“What about you?” I asked in an effort to change the subject and abate my mounting headache.

“My mother was special. My father…” he paused, his jaw clenching. “He took her from her home to his castle, believing that she could ordain the auspicious days for him.”

“Could she?”

He nodded. “And so much more. But as long as she stayed in the castle, my father lost his battles, and his real wives bore no children. So he sent us out here.”

I glanced down at the deep purple kimono I was wearing. “Was this hers?”

He nodded. “She died a year after we came here. Her spirit strengthens this place.”

I shifted into a formal bow. “Thank you for protecting us.” The wind whistled through the trees and rustled the hair off my shoulders.

“I know ending up here is not what you wanted. But it happened for a reason.” His smile was gentle and warm.

I sighed. “I hope so. I truly do.”

“Kou will help us. She’s the most powerful being I know.”

“And she’s a kitsune,” I deadpanned.

“Yes.” He furrowed his eyebrow. “Is that a problem?”

“No.” I laughed. “I need all the help I can get.”

“Until I hear from her…” he trailed off before facing me completely. “There is a festival tonight. Would you like to accompany me?”

*

Even before we made it into town, I could see the lights and hear the laughter.

There was something innately familiar about it. The stalls selling food and the cheers from the sumo match felt so right.

But there were no candy apples or takoyaki. There was no goldfish scooping game with kids huddled around it.

“The best food is this way.” Hoshihiko surged through the crowd, his black kimono quickly fading into the sea of colors.

“Wait!” I called.

I think he went this way. I hurried around a corner, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

“Ah!” Something thudded into my legs.

I looked down to see a small boy with tears in his eyes. His blue kimono was covered in the dust from his fall.

“Hey, it’s okay!” I tried to console him as someone bumped into me from behind. “Where are your parents?”

“I don’t know!” he cried, loosing the tears that had been hovering on his eyelids.

“Shh! It’s okay!” I scooped him up into my arms, carrying him towards a quieter part of the grounds. “Don’t worry! We’ll find them.”

I set him down by the base of the tree. “Who are you here with? Your father?”

He nodded.

“Your mother?”

He shook his head quickly.

“Brother? Sister?”

“My older brothers.” He sniffled.

“It’s okay! I lost my…friend too.”

“Really?” A little bit of hope filtered back into his eyes.

“Yep! We can look for them together.” I dusted the boy’s kimono off. “If I made you taller, you’d be the perfect lookout!”

“You can do that?” he asked excitedly.

“Of course!” I spun him around quickly before lifting him onto my shoulders. “My friend is wearing a black kimono and has short hair. Can you see him?”

He shook his head again. Why do I keep ending up in these situations?

“There you are!” A man cried, pushing his way out of the throng of people. He wore a navy kimono similar to the boy’s and had an eyepatch covering his left eye. “I am so glad you found him!”

“I don’t know you!” the little boy shouted, and my blood ran cold.

“What are you talking about, son? Don’t play games.” His eye glinted dangerously.

“No!” he insisted.

“He says he doesn’t know you. How can I be sure you’re his dad?” I pulled him down from my head and settled him on my hip. “Where is his sister?”

“She’s with her mother. Now if you’d just hand him over—”

“I don’t have a momma!” he cried, barely peeking out from behind me.

I put the boy down and knelt beside him. “When I tell you to run, run, okay? Try to find my friend. His name is Hoshihiko. Can you do that?”

The little boy nodded.

“I’m sorry for the delay.” I turned back toward the man.

“No problem.” He took a step forward, eyeing the boy.

“Now!” I shouted and kicked the man in the groin as hard as I could.

He crumpled as the child shot past him.

“I’ll get you for that!” He lunged for me, but I dodged, using his momentum to shove him into a tree. I roundkicked the side of his head, and he crumpled.

“Asahi!” I twisted around to see Hoshihiko running towards me with the boy. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, but I seem to attract trouble.”

“Or at least yokai.”

“Again?” I groaned.

“He’s an aobozu.”

“A what?”

Hoshihiko glanced at the child. “I’ll explain later. Let’s go find his family.”